Hilo Pharmacy School Signs Agreement With Chinese Counterpart

The University of Hawaii at Hilo’s pharmacy school has signed an agreement with a university in China that officials hope will result in scholarly exchanges between the two institutions.

The memorandum of understanding was signed last week between the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Pharmacy.

Among those involved in establishing the collaborative effort was Rose Tseng, former UH-Hilo chancellor and current professor and director of international programs at the Hilo university.

“We are uniquely positioned to influence the future of pharmacy in China because there is no comparable degree program for pharmacists there,” Tseng said in a statement issued today.

“At the same time, their science programs are very strong, giving our researchers even more opportunities to develop projects that will improve health care worldwide.”

The Shanghai university has 41,000 students, about twice the enrollment of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Its School of Pharmacy, which opened in 2000, has been described by ScienceWatch as “a rising star” in pharmacology and toxicology programs.

The school has 70 students enrolled each year in its masters and Ph.D. programs.

Associate Dean Lei Fu said the school is hoping to develop a doctor of pharmacy program and opportunities for visiting scholars.

“We look forward to the potential exchange of students and faculty because of the close proximity of our universities, but also because of the many common interests we share, including natural products,” Fu said.

“Because we are the only school of pharmacy in the Pacific area, it’s critical to reach out as the first line of communication in order to give students in this region a level of training never before available,” said John M. Pezzuto, dean of the UH-Hilo College of Pharmacy.

“This has the potential to spin off into a variety of directions, and we are excited and prepared to meet the challenge.”